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The Point- Volume I, Issue 5

The Changing Face of OM Politics by Marc Sklar & Ryan Altman

The DAOM degree, (Doctorate of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine) has been approved to be offered by OCOM (Oregon), Bastyr (Washington), and now PCOM. Those students intending to enroll in the doctorate program need to have minimum Masters’ level education. In the meantime, the Accreditation Commission of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM) has been surveying the profession’s opinion of whether it is necessary to require a 4000 hour doctorate as entry level for the practice of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. There has been much debate over the level of education currently required for LAc’s and a government agency known as the ‘Little Hoover Commission’, has been brought in to scrutinize our profession and its current educational standards.

The Little Hoover Commission is an independent state oversight agency that was created in 1962. The Commission's mission is to investigate state government operations and, (through reports, recommendations and legislative proposals) promote efficiency, economy and improved service. Currently they are reviewing the State Acupuncture Board, and the laws regarding the practice of acupuncture in CA. There are four main topics being considered by Little Hoover: Scope of practice of acupuncturists, Educational requirements, Vocational status (should there be "acupuncture assistants"), and accepting the NCCAOM (national licensure) in CA, or somehow blending the exams together.

Whatever the findings and recommendations of the commission may be, will change the face of our profession in the years to come. Students are encouraged to educate themselves on the standards being questioned, take a position on these issues, and let their voices be heard. For more information, visit the California State Acupuncture Board website at: www.acupuncture.ca.gov or the Little Hoover Commission website at www.lhc.ca.gov

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Dr. Helen Caldicott to Speak at the Kroc Center for Peace by Wes Tudor

Due in part to the efforts of the PCOM Student Council's Peace and Political Activism Club, Dr. Helen Caldicott will be coming to San Diego! One of the World’s most outspoken personalities on the perils of nuclear proliferation, Dr. Caldicott is the founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility and a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. Both the Smithsonian Institute and "Ladies' Home Journal" have named her one of the Most Influential Women of the 20th Century. She divides her time between Australia and the United States, where she has devoted the last thirty years to an international campaign to educate the public about the medical hazards of the nuclear age. Dr. Caldicott’s new book, The New Nuclear Danger: George Bush’s Military Industrial Complex can be found on her website and at bookstores everywhere.

The lecture will be free to the public and all students are encouraged to pass the word about the event. Healing a single patient is great, but working to heal our entire society seems much more important. I hope to see you there! USD Campus, Thursday May 8th at 7:00PM

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Students Make It Happen by Marc Sklar

Most students at PCOM hope that the administration and faculty will take care of all our student needs. But how can they fix a problem that they don’t know exists? Naturally, we students have to focus most of our time on studies, but what we forget is that we are the ones who need to take responsibility for our education and the future of our profession as a whole. The concerns of one student are probably also the concerns of others at PCOM and the Student Council is your conduit to have those needs voiced and met. During this past year, your student council has been functioning due to the help of many of your classmates, some visible and others behind the scenes, who we wish to thank. These students have taken time away from their lives and studies to help organize social events, political and community awareness, guest lectures, and to address all other needs of the students.

Some of these students will remain at PCOM for another year but many of us will be graduating. There are many positions that will need to be filled after this coming semester and student council is looking for students who are interested in helping out. In the coming months we will be accepting nominations for the positions below, and in July all students will be voting for the new student council board. If student council is not something you see yourself being active in, then think of someone who you feel might best serve the student body and encourage them to take on the responsibilities.

President– Acts as Chairperson for the Student council general meetings and board meetings. The president supervises all of the student council’s activities, has direct relations with the administration regarding student issues, and takes personal responsibilities for those issues and activities that are of interest to the president.

Vice-President– Assists the president in any way necessary. The VP acts on behalf of the president in his/her absence, replaces them if unable to serve and is responsible for all clubs and committees within the Student Council.

Treasurer– Handles all monies for the Student Council. The treasurer creates a budget and ensures that the there are enough finances to run all activities. They are also the standing chair for the fundraising committee and coordinates fundraising events.

Secretary – Keeps minutes at all meetings and is responsible for disseminating information between students and Student Council in the role of Publicist. S/he acts as Chairperson of the Media and Communications Committee which includes being responsible for editing and publishing "The Point", our student newsletter.

Floating Rep.- Will replace any officer, except the president, in case of absence, removal, or resignation. The floating rep. will help the board in any way possible.

Aside from these positions, we will be seeking individuals to act as chair for each of the following committees: Social Activity, Political Action, Community Outreach, and Curriculum Advisory. This is a wonderful opportunity to become involved in your profession, to develop new contacts within the field of Chinese medicine, and to build your resume for the future.

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China Scholarship Essay: Kim Taylor

"By nature, men are nearly alike, by practice, they get to be wide apart" ~Confucius

Our country is at war. Political unrest is rampant. Many people these days believe that to be an American is an embarrassment. I suggest the embarrassment lies within the human predicament itself. We openly define and defend our superiority over all other creatures by boasting about our large brains and superior consciousness, yet look at what we have single handedly created. We live in a world where ethnocentric attitudes prevail and mass destruction is a household term. Destruction of natural lands and clean water, of biodiversity and cultural diversity, of alliances, trust, and faith, are just a few of the global demons unleashed from Pandora’s box when we so ignorantly, selfishly, and greedily continue to open the lid. But if humanity is the sole threat to the planet, it is also its only hope. Hope is created by adding yin. In Chinese Medicine, we rarely quell the fire without also nourishing the yin. Translated globally, if war is inevitable, we must also nourish humanity as one, by conducting ourselves in ways that foster compassion, respect and understanding between all people and cultures. Travelling to a foreign country to learn from its people may seem like a small stone of hope cast into a global pool of despair, but its wake travels far and wide. Scholarships such as this one not only benefit the education of the recipient, but also make a global contribution towards humanitarianism. By supporting us in going forward to embrace another culture, they are helping us to stand back far enough to see humanity as one.

Paulo Cohelo, in his book The Alchemist, states "When we make a decision, we are really diving into a strong current that will carry us to places we never dreamed of when we first made the decision." And so it is with my decision to study Chinese Medicine. I arrived after 9 years in the field of animal behavior and endangered species management. My former affiliation allowed me the luxury of travelling to other countries and living there for months at a time. It was through these experiences that I became convinced that the meaning of a smile truly is universal, and that the bonds I was forming along the way with the local people in some way connected me to something bigger than myself. Practicing Chinese medicine is not just about choosing the correct herbs and points. It is also about forming and sustaining relationships with other people. We heal not only with our intention, but with our patient’s receptivity to it. Our intention is an ethereal culmination of our intellect, confidence, intuition, application of learned knowledge, and ability to foster trust. In order to engender our intention we must go beyond our academic learning and become pupils of life experience, always striving to widen our vision rather that succumb to the natural tendency towards myopia as we become increasingly identified with our beliefs. Therefore, as I embarked on a journey to form a relationship with Chinese medicine three years ago, I was also consequently embarking on a relationship with myself and my place in this world.

When people ask me why I am going to China, I tell them to study TCM, because this is a quick and sufficient answer. And when they ask me why I'm going there, when there are excellent teachers here, I reply by saying that to get to the purest water one must go to the source. But in actuality it is the whole experience of China in its entirety that I crave. I am a person that needs to make a connection. I have spent over 3 years studying a medicine borne thousands of years ago in a country I have never been to and know little about. My intention is like that of a Chinese herb raised in non-native soil. It is growing, but something is missing. What is missing in my intention is a connection to China that I can get only by going there with an open heart and experiencing as much of it as I can in the limited time that I have. My mind needs memories of faces and smells and places visited, when I am back here humbly attempting to channel a medicine that is not ancestrally mine.

In the clinic I anticipate seeing first-hand how Chinese medicine is practiced within a large integrated hospital. Will there be harmony or chaos between all the various practitioners? What thinking is going on behind the design of certain herbal formulas and how are they administered? What types of imbalances are responding best with moxabustion, and what techniques are the most widely utilized? How does the Doctor-patient relationship function there, and how does it differ from my experience of it here?

Outside the clinic I simply look forward to being immersed in Chinese life. China is both competitively enterprising and heavily rooted in ancient tradition, and this ideology is reflected in nearly every aspect of its culture. It is the epitome of new within old. I come from a country where you only have to be 100 years old to be called an antique, and oftentimes just 30 to be considered a classic. The West doesn't know what old is. We tend to discard the old in favor of new. In the East, new is added to old. Thus, the roots of East and West stem from entirely different philosophies, and as a westerner, becoming comfortable with these idiosyncratic differences not only will deepen my understanding of the language and practice of Chinese medicine, but will help to widen my appreciation of humanity as a whole.

Obviously, one trip is too short a time to return with any grand revelations and deep understandings of a place. The first visit into a new culture is merely a scouting mission, a brief look into the happenings of life from a completely different perspective than ones own. But wakes do travel from these small stones cast, and the educational impact of these brief journeys travel infinitely. Testaments to this are endless. We return alive with ideas that inspire others to make their own journeys. Stories of our travels excite our patients, and help them, as well, to feel more connected to the culture and philosophies behind their healing. I hope to return home a subtly changed person, as we sometimes feel after completing an exceptional novel. If I return home with a greater understanding of China, its people, and culture, if I can detect a little of its presence in my intention, and if I am filled up with more questions to be answered and dreams of a return trip, my expectations will have been surpassed. For the longer one spends time within another culture, the more that culture will humbly creep into our marrow and become a part of us.

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